NYANTAKYI KOFI KYE AND 3 OTHERS vs. MARGRET GYIMAH AND 11 OTHERS [2019]DLHC6867

Date	2019-05-14
Suit No.	SUIT NO: BFA/45/2007
Citation No.	[2019]DLHC6867

HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE KWEKU T. ACKAAH-BOAFO

COL KOFI DANSO (RTD.) FOR THE PLAINTIFFS

NIKITA OWUSU (MS.) FOR THE 5TH DEFENDANT

NOAH ASAMANY FOR THE 6TH TO 12TH DEFENDANTS

[2019]DLHC6867
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >NYANTAKYI
KOFI KYE AND 3 OTHERS<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFFS)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>MARGRET
GYIMAH AND 11 OTHERS<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANTS)<o:p></o:p>[HIGH COURT (GENERAL JURISDICTION DIVISION),
ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

SUIT
NO: BFA/45/2007&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;DATE: 14TH MAY, 2019<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:
<o:p></o:p>COL
KOFI DANSO (RTD.) FOR THE PLAINTIFFS<o:p></o:p>NIKITA
OWUSU (MS.) FOR THE 5TH DEFENDANT<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

NOAH
ASAMANY FOR THE 6TH TO 12TH DEFENDANTS<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM: <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

HIS
LORDSHIP JUSTICE KWEKU T. ACKAAH-BOAFO<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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</div>i.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Introduction:<o:p></o:p>[1]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The history of this case
makes it appropriate to prefix this judgment with the quote by the respected
former Chief Justice of this Republic, Wood CJ (as she then was) in the case of
AGYEMANG (Substituted by BANAHENE &amp;
OTHERS v. ANANE [2013-2014] 1 SCGLR 241 when she stated:<o:p></o:p>“The
oft quoted legal maxim “Justice delayed is justice denied”, coined by the
British politician, William Gladstone (1809-1898), is no mere cliché. The right
to fair trial in a timely manner is neither a courtesy nor a favour, but a
fundamental right.&nbsp; Protracted delays in
the administration of justice,&nbsp; impact
negatively&nbsp; not only on those who access
the courts, such as the victims of crime, accused persons who are acquitted at
the end of their trial, parties in civil proceedings and their privies, lawyers
who practice before the courts but indeed the entire justice system. The
judicial history of this relatively simple family related land matter, which
was commenced in the High Court Kumasi, as far back as the 4th of April
1974, provides an insight into the harmful effects of systemic delays in the
administration of justice.&nbsp; Regrettably,
it has taken forty long years, a whole generation, for this case to finally
find its way into this court; the court of last appeal. We hope court business
shall always be managed in ways that will not occasion a repeat of this parody
of justice”<o:p></o:p>[2]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sadly,
due to many reasons including the joinder of the 6th to 12th Defendants to the
Suit almost a decade after the filing of the suit at the Registry of the Court,
her Ladyships’s lamentations were ignored by the parties and so this simple
case involving the challenge of a Lawyer’s Last Will &amp; Testament has taken
over a decade since it was first filed on February 19, 2007. This case has taken
many years with twists and turns to reach its final destination. <o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>[3]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The
Plaintiffs seek a
declaration and pray for the invalidity of the Last Will
and Testament of Alfred Kye (the “Testator”) dated October 4, 2006 (the “2006 Will”) on the grounds of lack of testamentary capacity to
devise House No. 3 Agyemang Street, Zoti Residential Area in Accra and another
house at Abetifi Kwahu. They are also seeking a declaration that the 2006 Will
is null and void and of no legal effect. Specifically, the Plaintiffs
claim is for the following judicial reliefs:<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:
&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;">i.